Around a year ago, I became involved with a group of lawyers who were determined to do something about the climate and ecological crises. I helped to draft a “declaration of conscience” for the group, which has been signed by some 200 lawyers, law students and legal academics. The Lawyers Are Responsible (“LAR”) declaration, which was made public in March last year, ends with a pledge to withhold our legal services in respect of: (i) supporting new fossil fuel projects and (ii) action against climate protesters exercising their democratic right of peaceful protest.[1]
It was this last aspect of the declaration that attracted a significant amount of attention from the media and the profession. Equally important, but less controversial and therefore less newsworthy, is the signatories’ commi...